


The Beauty in Fire

by Onlyone5



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Blood and Torture, Eating Disorders, F/M, Gang Rape, Healing, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Parent/Child Incest, Psychological Torture, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:28:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25437694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onlyone5/pseuds/Onlyone5
Summary: Isao has been running from her past for the past three years.After being captured by Firelord Zuko, 16 year old Isao must decide whether or not she can learn to trust the young prince or if she is willing to risk giving up the safety he offers her. Will she be able to hid her past from him? How will he react when he finds out he girl that he's falling for has been lying to him about everything? and will Isao's friends ships be able to save her from herself?Please Read the tags! I plan on making this a dark fic!So this is my first fic and i wrote it in about an hour and a half. Let me know if I should continue it. Also, I welcome any critics, but please be gently. This is the first non academic thing I've ever written, and I don't know how to write a good summary.
Relationships: Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 26





	1. The Western Temple

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the Tags!!! This is a dark and heavy fic! I care about my readers, so please don't read this if you think it will harm you mentally!

Pain. “Why is pain always the first thing I feel?” she thought bitterly to herself as she rolled onto her side. The girl inhaled deeply pushing herself off the cold ground. Wincing at the ache in her limbs. It had been months since she had last slept in a real bed, and she was beginning to forget what it meant to be warm. She was getting tired of hiding. She had heard rumblings that the firelord had been defeated, and yet she doubted that would deter her captures.  
Snatching up her pack she headed out of the temple she had been using as shelter and hissed as the biting wind stung her nose. As she left the temples that had once belonged to the air nomads, she wondered how much longer she could keep running before her body started to decay like the walls around her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Two days earlier ~

Zuko sighed heavily, he had been listening to the same three merchants complain about how poor peace was for business for the past hour. For some strange reason the merchants seemed unable to grasp why Zuko was against sending young men and women to their deaths soly to farther line their pockets.  
“ ..as you can see Firelord Zuko, continuing down this path of “peace” will only lead to the ruin of this great nation. I mean.. even your father knew this.” Finished one of the merchants a smug look telling Zuko he thought he had done a rather good job of convincing the young Firelord.  
Zuko, taking a deep breath as he tried his hardest not to fry the man for his last comment, growled through his teeth “ Regardless the fact remains that I will not sacrifice the lives of my people to line your pockets. My father may have been willing to trade lifes for silver but I will not. Now get out of here before I do something we'll both regret.” standing with his last words he glared at the three men with such hatred they felt as if it were actually burning into their souls. Turning on his heel Zuko stormed out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon reaching the palace gardens, Zuko let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. Sinking into the grass at the base of a large willow tree he shut his eyes and let himself get lost in thought. He had known that taking over his father's throne would be difficult, but he had underestimated just how much work it would require to undo the evils of his lineage. He had figured that there would be a few generals and officials who opposed his rulings, but he had never anticipated the public backlash. Perhaps it had been the three years he had spent banished, but he hadn't remembered the propaganda having been this effective. Most of his subjects either thought him a traitorous son, or a fool's child fighting a war he did not fully understand. And that was just his own people. The rest of the nations looked at him with distrust and uncertainty. Always expecting him to have a secret agenda or to invade them at any moment. The constant suspicion and scrutiny weighed heavily on him. Even more so with his only friends being scattered across the four nations. The only ones staying in the fire kingdom being Sokka and Suki, although he wasn't quite sure if the former had stayed for him or Suki, he knew better than to question it. 

Zuko was pulled away from his thoughts by the ridiculously loud thuds of the inuit boy sprinting towards him. Coming to a halt the boy bent down placing a hand on the tree as he tried to regain his breath. Zuko waited for a moment with an eyebrow raise before snapping “Just spit it out Sokka.” Sokka glanced up at the glowering boy “ Give me a second I just ran all the way here from the lower town” shooting the taller boy daggers as he straightened up.  
“There have been sightings of someone in the western air temple.”  
“Is it Fudo?”  
“They weren’t able to identify the traveler, but one of the scouts did notice a fire nation insignia on one of the blankets they were using.”  
Zuko thought for a second. The western air temples were hard to reach, if someone was there it was on purpose, and based on the fact that they had been empty for almost a hundred years he doubted it was for something as simple as looting.  
“Sokka, I want this person taken into custody. Whatever reason they have for being up there it can't be good. Even on the off chance it might be just a traveler, it's better to be safe than sorry. Especially with Fudo and his men on the loose.”  
“Gottcha, Firelord Grumpy! I’ll be back with them in three days.”  
Sokka yelled over his shoulder already walking away. Zuko shook his head and turned to go inside for dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had barely stepped foot outside the air temples before she was ambushed from behind. She hit the ground hard, swiftly she rolled to the side and sprang back on to her feet. She quickly sized up her attacker before he lunged at her again. He was about 5’10”, slim but athletic, his skin was tanned, and he wore a wolf tail and water tribe clothing. Definitely not working for Fudo, she concluded as she dodged his attack, bringing her elbow down hard on his back as he sailed past her. Jumping back on to his feet, she turned to the offensive. She ran towards him with her fist cocked back. The man raised his hands ready to block the attack, when she dropped to the ground swinging her foot and catching the back of his legs. Before her attacker could recover she had already straddled his back and pinned one of his arms between his shoulder blades. “Who are you?” she hissed as she pushed his arm upwards almost dislocating it. “Ow ow ow ow ow ow!” the man shouted a look of pain clearly painted across his face.  
As she studied her attacker she realized he wasn't actually a man at all, rather a boy who probably wasn't much older than herself. If this kid wasn’t with Fudo, why the hell had this kid attacked her she thought to herself. Better yet, why was this kid so far from the water nation? And why the hell was this kid alone? “Fuck” she mumbled eyes going wide as she realized her mistake. Suddenly she felt a shooting pain in her arm. She could feel her body go numb as she slumped off the boy. She stared in horror as men in fire nation armor started to emerge from behind rocks and other hiding places. A single tear slipped out of her eye as her vision went dark.


	2. A Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I decided to write another chapter because I have insomnia and actually kinda enjoy writing. This is going to be a long fic, just so y'all know. Thanks to everyone who has read it, and thanks to those who bookmarked it. I didn't realize how good seeing that would make me feel. ALso don't worry we are getting in to the main relationship in the next chapter.

Sokka felt the mass on top of him go limp and fall to the side. Pushing himself up, he turned to look at the traveler. They were dressed surprisingly warmly for the weather. The temples were always windy, but the weather was usually pretty mild, especially on sunny days when the stone of the temple seemed to absorb every ray that touched it. They had sturdy boots on, clearly made for a warrior. Strong with good but light as to not tire a fighter in combat, he didn’t need to see the insignia on the soles to know they were issued by the fire nation. The traveler - now prisoner - wore warm long pants and large heavy coat, both a dingy brown, that somewhat resembled the clothes he himself had worn growing up. Their face was covered by a scarf , and the oversized hood. Sokka realized with a bit of shock that the person laying before him was surprisingly small for someone of their height. Reaching down he moved the scarf and hood and abruptly let out a laugh. ‘You're kidding me!’ he thought in disbelief ‘Its a girl!’.  
Turning to the Soldier closest to him, Sokka barked “Load her up! We have to get back!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Thump, thump, thump*  
The rhythmic thumping of wheels over the uneven terrain was the first thing to register to the now prisoner as she regained consciousness. It took her a couple of tries, due to the pounding head and the heavy lids, but eventually she was able to pry her eyes open. The first thing she notested was that she appeared to be in a moving holding cell. ‘They think I’m an earth bender.’ she realized with a start.  
“Good your awake! I was beginning to think that we would make it back to the Fire Nation before you woke up.”  
She jumped upon hearing the voice a few feet to her right. As she whipped her head around, her eyes settled on the boy she had fought earlier.  
“What do you want?” She tried to growl, but actually came out sounding weak.  
“Nuh uh, That’s not how this works. I’m the one in charge here, I’ll ask the question you answer that's how this works. Got it?”  
Instead of a reply she shot the boy the meanest glare she could and imagined him bursting into flames. The boy stared at her for a moment as if he were trying to figure out a problem. He let out a resigned sigh “Fine, how bout this. If you answer my questions I'll answer yours. We’ll take turns.”  
She glared at him a moment longer before finally nodding her agreement.  
“Great, What’s your name?” He asked with a shit eating grin taking over his face.  
The girl thought for a moment. She knew that she couldn't give him her real name , so she settled on something simple and familiar.  
“My name is Lee.”  
“Nice to meet you Lee!” the boy said loudly as he extended his hand. Lee eyed it wearily for a moment, silently deciding whether or not this boy was trouble. Extending her hand she grasped his firmly as he smiled even wider and said “My name is Sokka.” Letting go of the boy's hand, She replied testing out the name “Nice to meet you too, Sokka.” Unable to meet the eyes of the boy she had just lied to. She had always hated lying, even as a child, she preferred half truth or white lies. However she didn’t have a choice. This boy was working for the Firelord, and the Firelord was sure to recognize her name, Isao, if he heard it. After all, it is difficult to forget the name of your betrothed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zuko Looked at the boy across from him with a bewildered look.  
“What do you mean you want her to join the royal guard?!?!”  
“It makes sense! She's a great fighter, she took me down didn't she? Plus, she needs a place to stay and she's super nice!”  
“You've known her for five days and she's been your prisoner for all of them!! We still don't know where she is from or where her loyalties lie. Not to mention she is your prisoner!”  
“Come on Zuko! Trust me!”  
“Give me one good reason I should? If you are wrong this could get people killed”  
“Well you tried to kill us for close to a year and we still trusted you, and know we are like brothers.” Sokka smirked “ and she hasn't even tried to kill anyone.”  
Zuko Hung his head in defeat. He didn’t know why he even tried to argue with Sokka on stuff like this. He never won.  
“Fine, but I want to meet her first and if she fucks up I will hold you personally responsible.”  
“Yeah! Thanks, Firelord grumpy! She's going to blow you away!” Sokka celebrated as he pumped a fist in the air and turned to deliver the good news.  
Zuko slumped back in his chair. Reaching up to rub his head to ward off the impending headache he had the unmistakable feeling that he was going to regret this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isao glanced at the door with anxiety. She knew that at any moment Sokka was going to come bursting though the door being his stupid loud self and anouce that it was time for dinner. And not just any dinner, dinner with the Firelord, with her ex-betrothed, Zuko, her childhood friend. She shook her head trying to shake out the memories that threatened to come rushing back and drown her. Instead she turned to the mirror in front of her and inspected her reflection. She felt strange. Her short brown hair that was usually tied back was now down. It was wavy and the ends brushed the tops of her shoulders. Her muddy green eyes looked especially green thanks to the rest of her being covered in different shades of gold and red. She liked the clothes she had been given. Granted it had been a long time since she had worn something that was this nice, but thought it looked good on her regardless. The pants were made of a nice light and breathable fabric, although she couldn't tell what, that fell loosely down her legs until the ankles where they were cuffed. The belt sat nicely around her waist making it seem smaller than normal and her hips larger as well. The top was fairly form fitting, but thanks to the shoulder piece that covered most of her shoulders and the top half of her breasts, it felt modest enough for her to still feel comfortable. However, she wished it had sleeves, and the lack thereof left her scars on display. She looked at her armes. Most of the scars were cuts and scrapes, nothing that couldn’t be explained away but her training. As her eyes traveled up her arms they came to rest on her upper right arm. That scar wasn’t so easily explained. The red finger prints curled around her arm. Forever marking her as nothing more than property.  
Isao jumped a little as Sokka came bursting through the door. “Lee! It's time for din-... wow you like a girl. I was beginning to think it wasn't possible.” he teased. “Shut up and take me to dinner.” she replied with a sour look on her face. Sokka offered her his arm and as they felt the room, Isao could feel Sokka’s words cutting deeper in to her flesh.


	3. Dinner

Zuko studied the girl sitting across from him, who was currently distracted by the chef trying to dish copious amounts of food onto her plate. She was tall, somewhere around 5’7” - 5’8”. Her body was extremely skinny, the layer of strong muscle being the only thing stopping him from concern. Her arms were littered with scars, not uncommon for a fighter, however, the red hand burned on her upper right arm was less common. The scar causes his brow to crease. He had run a cross the very same scar on multiple other people since taking over as Firelord.  
“So Lee? Is it?” He asked more out of skepecisiem than actual need.  
“Yes, your honor.” Zuko looked up annoyed as his personal bodyguard, Suki, who had been standing at the door, tried to stifle a laugh.  
“ Well LEE, It seems that Sokka has taken quite a liking to you.”  
“Yeah, well he IS kind of an idiot isn't he?” she retorted, the corner of her mouth tugging upwards. Zuko gave her a strange look.  
“Excuse me if I’m blunt, but seeing as I’m busy I hope you’ll forgive me. But what exactly is it that you hope to achieve by being here?” He shot daggers at her as she blinked a few times processing what he was asking. Her demeanor suddenly shifted from discomfort to alert and defensive.  
“To be perfectly blunk, what I’m hoping to achieve is my freedom, seeing as how you thought it fit to take it from me for no apparent reason. But let me be perfectly clear on this issue,” She leaned back in her chair and stared at him, as if it were a challenge. “I am cooperating now, because this seems to be a fairly safe place and the least troublesome route. If that changes, so does my cooperation.” Zuko stared at the girl in disbelief. She is in his palace surrounded by his men in his nation eating his food, dressed in his clothes and interviewing for a job, and she had the gall to threaten him. Finally, he just nodded in understanding. There wasn't much conversation the rest of the meal, although to be honest he seems to be the only one to eat anything. Lee instead opting to just push the food around on her plate.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After dinner had concluded, Zuko called Sokka into his chambers. As he waited for the inuit boy to arrive he milled over the night's events. He wasn’t sure what it was, but something about the girl upset him. As much as he wished he could just say it was the mark on her arm, he knew it was more than that. It was all of her. He felt drawn to her. She seemed so familiar, like a memory tugging at the back of his mind. He shook his head. He was just being stupid, there was no way he knew her seeing as Sokka had told him she was from the earth kingdom. It didn't matter he had made up his mind. He was going to let her be part of the royal guard. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How did it go?” Sokka asked as he burst through the doors to Zuko’s chamber. Letting out a sigh Zuko stood up.  
“I want her room moved. She is to be in the bedroom next to mine. Starting tomorrow she will be part of my personal detail. Understood?”  
“Loud and clear Firelord Grumpy!” Sokka retorted with a gigantic smile spreading across his face. Zuko Rolled his eyes at the nickname and sighed in annoyance.  
“I'm not done yet. She will be on my personal detail, only because I want her under surveillance at all times. I still don’t trust her, but I have a feeling she knows more than she is letting on, and I am going to find out what she is hiding.”  
Now it was Sokka’s turn to roll his eyes and shoot back.  
“What the hell do you mean by that? I interrogated her myself. She doesn't know anything!”  
“Are you blind?!?” Zuko threw his hands up in frustration. “Did you not see the burn on her arm? You and I both know what that means.”  
The boy's face fell knowing the ugly truth of the girl’s scarred arm.  
“Fine, She’ll be moved in before morning.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isao flinched as she heard of her new assignment, and of her new living arrangements. She had been hoping that her threat at dinner had been enough to upset the young Firelord into banishing her. Although, that had been the best case scenario. Now she was stuck with the guy. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized what his motives might be, especially when taking into account her new sleeping arrangement. Before she had been in the dungeons in her own holding cell. Sure the locks meant she couldn't get out, but it also meant no one could get in.  
As she was led further down the corridor, she realized that she had visited this wing of the palace many times as a child, and tried to suppress the feeling of terror causing her blood to run cold. Soon, Sokka stopped in front of one of the rooms. Opening the door, she realized with relief that she had never been in this room, the red walls being tall, but not all together spacious.  
“This is your room. Pretty sweet Right?” She turned to look at the boy, who was clearly proud of himself for orchestrating this, and a bit…. Nervous?  
“It's great. Thanks Sokka.” She mumbled, shooting him a small smile. “I think I’m going to head to bed.”  
“Okay, don’t let the spider-flies bite, Night!”  
As the door slammed behind the boy, she glanced around the room and gave in to the memories tugging her from the present.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ 7 Year earlier ~

“ Azula, Stop!” The little girl screamed as she ran towards the girl shooting flames at the turtle-ducks in the pond.  
“Shut up, Isao!” Azula turned and pushed her to the ground.  
“Stop it! they didn't do anything!”  
At that Azula cackled.  
“I know, it's just fun to watch them try to escape.”  
“Thats horrible!” Isao said in horror.  
“You don’t understand, because you’re weak.” Azula spat at the girl. “I can’t believe someone so pathetic will be married to the Firelord!”  
“ wh-what?”  
“Oh didn’t our fathers tell you? You’re betrothed to Zuko.” Azula smirked at the young girls as her face transformed from confusion to something else.  
“You are lying!” She shouted up with the fear evident on her face. Aula turned to walk away, before deciding to throw one last dagger at the girl.  
“I wonder how long it is before Zuko starters to climb in your bed at night with the others.”  
Isao broke into tears as the Fire princess walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sokka glanced back at Lee (Isao) as he led her to her new chambers. As his eyes rested on her upper arm he was reminded of Zuko’s earlier comment. He knew that the burn mark meant the girl was the property of Fudo, Ozai’s Right hand man. He had seen it on many people before, though all of them were broken people. Unable to look anyone in the eye, covered in scars from frequent beating, terrified of everyone, and unable to fight. He found it hard to believe that the girl in front of him had faced the same conditions. She was small for her size, but she radiated power and confidence. A smile crept on to his face as he recalled the days he had spent interrogating her. As much as he hated to admit it she had got the better of him on more than one occasion with her wit, and occasionally with her fist. By the third day however, they had both grown tired of the fighting and had decided it would be best for both of them if they called it a truce. After that it was less of a truce and more of a friendship. Glancing back again he noticed a strange look on her face, and despite her best efforts he could see her fist shaking. Confused by her reaction, he stopped in front of the room that was to be hers and opened the door.  
“This is your room. Pretty sweet Right?” He gestured around the room. Her demeanor had set him on edge.  
“It's great. Thanks Sokka.” The girl said, shooting him a half smile. “I think I’m going to head to bed.”  
“Okay, don’t let the spider-flies bite, Night!” He said as he stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Looking down the corridor, he turned towards Zuko’s room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Come in!” Zuko said looking up from the work in front of him. “Hey, Sokka, What’s wrong?”  
He questioned immediately noticing the boy’s unusually serious seminar.  
“We need to talk about Lee.” Zuko signed and moved to sit on the foot of his bed, giving Sokka a look that told him to continue.  
“You knew she was connected to Fudo.”  
“Yeah.” Zuko replied even though he knew it wasn’t a question.  
“So why isn’t she still in a cell?” The Firelord let out a sigh as he ran a hand down his face.  
“Honestly, I’m not sure….. I guess she reminded me of an old friend, and I thought helping her might make up for some of the wrong I did to them.” Sokka’s blue eyes softened as he looked at his friend. He looked tired and worn down. His shoulders holding more responsibility than any boy his age should. Shaking his head, Sokka exited the room.


	4. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, this chapter does talk about rape and self harm, so be aware! Other than that please enjoy the chapter.

It had been about a month since Isao had started working as part of Firelord Zuko’s personal detail. They had all fallen into their routines, and she was surprisingly good friends with Sokka. Her days alternated between training with Sokka, and guarding Zuko, which mostly entailed her following him around like a lost puppy, but it was fairly easy. Zuko always treated her well although she had noticed he had become less guarded around her and had even started to treat her as a friend. Although, Some days he was markedly shorter with her than others, and it just so happened that today was one of those days. Unfortunately it also happened to be a bad day for Isao.  
“Damn it Lee! Pay attention will you!” Zuko snapped at the girl standing across from him. She was suppose to be training with him, but her movements had been sluggish and off all day. On a normal day she was good enough to beat him, although not without a fight, but today, if they had really been fighting she would have been dead. The flinch he received at his works didn’t escape Zuko’s notice. Lee (Isao) responded by launching towards him. The attack was in all accounts laughable. She telegraph her attack while leaving her entire body and legs open to an attack. Zuko easily dodged her and with a quick kick and a flick of his swords, her legs were out from under her, and her sword no longer in her hands. Zuko quickly straddled her and held his right sword against her throat. Looking down at the girl beneath him ready to scold her on her poor form, he was shocked. Usually when he beat her she was angry or annoyed but this time it was different. Was she scared of him? He realized in horror, although the feeling only got worse when he heard the girl beneath him whimper “I’m sorry. I’ll be good I swear. please stop.”  
Looking into Lee’s eyes they seemed like glass, seeing but not understanding the situation in front of them. Zuko scurried off her as he noticed her eyes start to water and she started to hyperventilate. As soon as the pressure was off her chest she scrambled away from him still on her back. Her retreat only stopped when she bumped into a tree a few feet behind her.  
Zuko stood in shock looking at the usually fierce warrior crumbling in front of him. After a moment her breath seemed to even out a bit, and she raised her head. A look of confusion crossed her face, and then was quickly replaced with embarrassment.  
“Zuko?” She quickly scrambled to her feet whipping at her eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to - I just - I thought- I- I need to go.” She quickly turned and ran out of the training grounds. Zuko stood there watching her leave before yelling “Lee, wait! Lee!” but she was already gone. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isao breathed heavily against her door. How could she have been that stupid? Stupid! stupid! Stupid! She silently cursed herself. Pushing herself off her door she moved to her desk. Quickly and carelessly ripping the bottom drawer open and grabbing the box that sat in it. Opening the box she with drew the ornate knife and freed the sharp blade from its sheath. Pulling off her shirt, she tried to control her breathing as she set the knife against her stomach. As she pulled the knife across her skin and watched the red line appear behind it, she could feel herself being pulled back to reality.  
“Really? You can't think that after that pathetic display that is all the punishment you deserve. I clearly didn’t teach you well enough.” A man’s voice rang in her head as she looked at the knife in her hand. She quickly dragged it across her skin again and again. Letting out a frustrated yell, she threw the knife against the wall. With the voices and memories silenced, she inspected the damage she had caused. Looking at the five angry lines across her stomach she knew she had fucked up. At least two would need stitches, and despite the clothing being red she doubted the blood would come out. She pulled a box of first aid supplies out from under her bed and she set to work closing her wounds.  
The finished product was a bit messy but would do the job. Cursing under her breath she realized her outburst and lack of self control meant she couldn’t train for at least a week. 'Oh well' she thought at least her earlier outburst would be a good enough reason to avoid Zuko. As far as Sokka, she would just have to get creative. Removing her bloody pants, she moved to the bowl of water on top of her vanity. Using soap and a rag to wipe off the dried blood. Throwing the bloody rag on top of her clothes, she moved to her bed. The young girl willed the day away as her eyes shut and she gave into the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Flashback*  
Isao sucked in a breath as the man above her used the tip of his knife to trace his way down her throat. She tried to look away from the man groping her chest but was quickly stopped by the man's rough hand against her chin.  
“Aw, come on now. If you look away you are going to miss all the fun.” The man said, rubbing his thumb across her lips before bending down to meet them with his own. The kiss was rough and clumsy. Isao tried to keep her breathing even as the man sat back and dragged the knife to the top of her chest. She inhaled sharply as the man violently cut through the thin fabric of her night gown. The man moved to cup her breast. Despite her only being ten she had begun to develop. She wished she hadn’t the men had become rougher since. She felt the man move his hand to his belt. Her breath hitched as she heard the buckle clink as it was moved. As the man lined up his cock with her entrance, she braced herself for the inevitable pain. She bit her lip stifling a scream as the man pushed into her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zuko stared at the door in front of him, his hand frozen in the air as he debated on if he should knock or just walk away. He blinked and took a deep breath before quickly knocking against the door. He waited a moment before trying again. Still there was no answer. Letting out a heavy sigh, he turned to go back to his chambers. He had known that Lee (Isao) had been abused. That much was obvious by Fudo’s mark. However, up until this point he had thought that it either wasn’t as bad as the others, or she had dealt with the emotional damage better than most. She had always seemed strong to him. Most of the time she was witty and sarcastic, constantly poking fun at and with Sokka. He internally cursed himself for being so careless. It had been years since the agni kai with his father, and he still flinched when someone tried to touch his face. He suddenly felt sick as he remembered him yelling at her. Everytime he raised his voice she had visible flinched. He hadn’t put much thought into it, past her simply disliking the scolding, but now, he felt like a complete ass. He wondered how often she was stuck in some horrible memory only for him to rip her out of it with some mean comment. He didn’t mean to be harsh with Lee, in all honesty, he had started to develop a bit of a crush on her. Though he refused to admit it even to himself, which only fueled the mean comments he far too frequently threw at her. Having entered his room, he sat down at his desk. Resting his head in his hands he realized that he owed the girl an apology that he knew he would be unable to give her.  
Standing up and crossing over to his dresser, he quickly changed out of his training clothes and back into his royal garbs. Despite his want to wallow in self pity, he knew he had duties to attend to that could not wait. Hearing a knock on his door he looked up as Suki walked in not waiting for his invitation.  
“Hey Zuko, have you seen Lee anywhere? She was supposed to meet me 10 minutes ago and never showed. I thought she might still be training with you.” Suki questioned missing the look of guilt that crossed Zuko’s face at her words. Zuko quickly made up a lie, saying “She was feeling sick during practice, so I gave her the day off. Sorry, I forgot to tell you.”  
“Oh.. Okay, thanks” Suki responded, although the look of confusion wasn't missed by Zuko. Zuko let out a heavy sigh as he moved to follow Suki out of his room, wishing that the day would end.


	5. Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> all I have to say about this one is FEELINGS!!!

Isao had woken up in the middle of the night thanks to a nightmare and hadn't been able to get back to bed. Unfortunately, She was on Zuko duty. Staring at the ceiling she wondered how much longer she could keep the lie up. She had to be more careful. As much as she hated to admit it, she enjoyed her life here. Sokka was quickly becoming her closest friend, and as much as she denied it,her childhood feelings for Zuko had started to return. Realizing the time that had passed, she pulled herself off the bed grunting as the movements tugged at the stitches in her side. She quickly got dressed. Opting for an old uniform that hung a bit too loosely on her frame as to avoid irritating her wounds, and pulled her hair back. She looked at herself in the mirror and chringed. She looked weak. Her skin was paler than usual, and the dark circles under her eyes were impossible to hide. ‘I look dead’ she thought to herself with a sour chuckle. Turning away from the mirror she grabbed her sword and made her way to Zuko’s room. Steading herself, she knocked on the door and waited for a reply.   
“Come in!” She could feel Zuko’s gold eyes burning into her as she walked across the threshold. Careful to avoid his gaze she moved to stand next to Suki. The brunette girl gave her a look of concern before asking if she was feeling better, informing Isao of her worry when she failed to show at the meeting the day before.   
“I’m feeling much better now. Thanks. I didn’t mean to make you worry.” Isao assured Suki, while trying to hide the red heat that passed over her cheeks. She felt bad that she had worried her friend, but she was more confused by the fact that Zuko had covered for her. She had thought that he would have told someone by now.  
The rest of the day was uneventful. Isao managed to avoid minimal Interactions with Zuko thanks to his busier than usual day. After her shift was over she turned down Sokka and Suki’s offer to eat dinner with them, lying that her stomach was still a bit upset from the previous day's sickness. Though her strange behavior caught the attention of the young couple, she didn’t seem to care. Leaving her friends she wandered about the palace grounds. She soon realized she had wandered into the palace gardens. She made her way towards the pond in the center, settling herself against a tree on the water’s edge. Leaning back against the sturdy trunk, she watched the newly hatched turtle-ducks swim after their mother. A smile crept across her face as one of the smaller ones tried to climb onto its mother's back, resulting in the small thing tumbling back into the water. Letting out a sign she relaxed, thankful for the fem moments she was able to forget her troubles.

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Zuko had run into Sokka and Suki while grabbing dinner for himself. Apparently, Lee had turned down their offer to join them saying her stomach was still uneasy. This information had caused an uneasy mass to settle in the pit of his stomach. It hadn’t escaped his notice how gaunt the girl had looked, nor her lame excuses for not eating lunch. Grabbing some bread, cheese, and an apple, he left the area. Instead he decided to eat at the pond, where he often went when something was bothering him. Needless to say, he was more than a bit surprised to see the very person causing his concern relaxed in his favorite spot. He moved to sit down beside her, careful not to disturb the girl.   
“Hey” The girl's eyes flicked over to the boy sitting next to her in surprise.  
“Hey” was her only response before moving her eyes back to the creatures in the water. The next few moments stretched out in awkward silence, before Zuko finally cleared his throat asking “what happened yesterday? And don’t tell me it was nothing.” Isao sat for a moment, debating her option. Maybe it was her exhaustion from lack of sleep and not having eaten in over 24 hours, or perhaps she was just tired of lying to her friends.   
“I've been lying to you all. My name isn’t Lee.” Zuko turned to the girl in shock. He didn’t know what he was expecting to hear but it definitely hadn’t been that. Before he could begin to respond the girl continued. “I’ve spent the last two years on the run. Before I escaped I was being trained by my father to fight for the Firelord. He spent years abusing me. I lived in constant fear of making a mistake. When I was fourteen I managed to escape. After that I knew I would be killed if I was caught, so I ran.” Zuko studied the girl in front of him. Her face was frozen, never showing any emotion, almost as if she were reciting a poem she had memorized. “So for the past two years I’ve been running, and I only stopped because I was attacked by Sokka and brought here.” Zuko sat for a moment in stunned silence, trying to process what he had just heard. He was angry and confused. He turned fuming to look at the girl. As the previous day's incident returned to his mind, he could feel the flames fueling his rage turn to ice.   
“Why did you lie?” was the only thing he could manage to ask. The girl let out an eerie laugh “Because I was scared. I was being taken back to the Firenation. I thought I was going to be turned over to my father or Ozai. Then you walked out and I didn’t know what to think. I mean you had always been nice to me as a kid, but I mean, It had been years and you were still Ozai’s son no matter how nice you had been. I-I’m a traitor, by all accounts I deserve nothing less than death. I mean, I put myself before the country. I deserted. AS if I was worth anything more than trash. I deserve to die. I completely understand if you decide that’s what is best. I know that I lied. I lied to everyone. I lied to my friends to trust me and believed in me. I know that I-” The girl who had begun to ramble abruptly cut off, clearly trying to hold back tears as she hid her face. Zuko felt sick. Her words reminded him of his younger self. He wasn’t sure what to say to comfort her, so instead he asked the first question he could grab on to.   
“So what is your name?” The girl answered and he felt as if the ground gave out from under him.  
“Isao” 

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Zuko sat on the foot of his bed, his head reeling from everything he had just learned. After calming Le-Isao down he had assured her he wasn’t going to have her be put to death, nor prove her worth in an Agni Kai, (which, in all honesty, had puzzled him seeing as how she was a non-bender) he had pulled her off the ground and had taken her to her room. The empty look on her face as she curled into a ball on top of her bed had caused a pang to shoot through his heart. Flopping back to lay down he remembered his childhood friend and betrothed. She had always been so kind, and timid. She was accident prone, and always covered in strange bruises. She was never able to meet anyone's eyes, anyone’s except his that was. She was constantly being picked on by Azula. They had been in the same grade, and her timid nature and constant need to stand up for others made her the perfect target. They had become friends when she was 6 and he was 8. He had been playing with the turtle-ducks in the garden when he had heard her crying. Rushing to see who had been hurt, he found his sister standing over her. He rushed to stop Azula as she drew back her leg to land another blow. After that day Isao had started opening up to him. She would tell him stories as they fed the turtle ducks, and he would protect her as best he could from Azula. He was ten when he found out they were to be married, and after that things changed. They were still friends, but Isao had put up a wall between them. She acted as if everything were the same, but she had become guarded and he knew it. Letting out a sigh, he closed his eyes and let the darkness consume him. Grateful for the reprieve of sleep.


	6. Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware of self harm in this chapter!

Isao was awakened by a knock on her door. She stumbled out of bed and groggily threw on her robe before answering the door with a yawn. She was ready to yell at whoever dared to wake her up at this ungodly hour but stopped in her tracks upon seeing a nervous looking Zuko.  
“We need to talk.” She nodded as the day’s previous events came rushing back to her. She gestured for him to enter as she stepped to the side, allowing enough room for him to pass by. Shutting the door, she turned to face him.   
“You shouldn’t have lied.” He stated matter of factly. “That being said, I understand why you did.” This caused Isao to look at him, interrupting her inspection of the floor. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m still mad at you, and not sure if I can trust you. You are going to have to work your ass off if you ever want to earn it back. Even then I’m not sure you will be able to.” The girl remained silent having returned to her gaze to the floor. He paused and took a breath before starting again.  
“That being said, despite my best efforts I’ve actually started to consider you a friend. And, since you are my friend, that means I care about you. I want you to feel safe, and happy, especially with me.” The boy averted his eyes as his cheeks grew hot. “I want you to know that you can trust me. I know you have been hurt a lot in your lifetime, and I’m sure it was at my father's hand more than once, but I’m not him. I’ve spent my life undoing his wrongs, not repeating them. So if you are ever having a bad day, or need someone to talk to, I’d be glad to listen. After all, I know what it’s like to have scars from your family.”  
The girl studied the boy in front of her. Her brain screamed at her to not trust him. It had to be good to be true, after all, she didn’t deserve forgiveness. Yet, she trusted him. After all, this was Zuko. He had defended her more times than she could remember. She had hurt him, and lied to him, and yet, here he was. Offering his help. She surprised herself as she stepped towards the boy, raising her hand. She paused, seeing the look in Zuko’s eyes. The gold eyes flashed with fear for a moment before shutting. Isao could feel the boy tense as she lightly touched the scar that covered his left eye before melting into her touch.   
“Ozai did this, didn’t he?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. The young Firelord turned his head away from her in shame. Before Isao could stop herself, she was throwing her arms around her childhood friend, pulling him into her warm embrace.   
“I promise.” 

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Zuko stood for a moment completely stunned by the girl's hug.   
“I promise.”  
With the girl's words, he felt himself crumpling. He let out a sob as he fell into her hug, letting himself be pulled down until his head rested against her shoulder. He let himself really cry for the first time since confronting Ozia. He wasn’t sure when, but at some point Isao had started to cry too. He knew the words held so much more than they seemed. She wasn’t just promising to trust him. She was promising to be the same for him. It made him happy. As the pair sunk to the floor, leaning on each other as they grieved their losses, Zuko could feel a sense of relief wash over him as he realized that after all this time, he had his friend back.

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The pair had become noticeable closer over the next few days. Isao had started joining Zuko during meals, and their friends didn’t miss the subtle looks, and light touches that constantly passed between the two. It seemed almost as if they were reassuring themselves that the other was really there. After Discussing it with Isao, Zuko had told Suki and Sokka her true identity. They had been upset and hurt at first. Suki had been the first to come around. Sokka on the other hand had been considerably more stubborn. At one point trying to challenge her to an Agni Kai, which caused Zuko to nearly blow a gasket before Suki helpfully pointed out that neither was a firebender. Unfortunately for her, Sokka’s anger meant he wasn’t buying her usual half assed excuses to get out of training. Which meant she was currently making her way towards the training grounds. She knew she had better hurry. She expected the day's training session to be harder than usual thanks to Sokka’s bad mood, and being late definitely wouldn’t help the situation, but she couldn’t help dragging her feet.   
She entered the training grounds to see Sokka already waiting for her in the arena. She quickly dropped her things onto a nearby bench and grabbed her sparring sword. She took her starting position while trying to calm her nerves. Despite the fact that she was avoiding eye contact she could feel the Inuits eyes burning into her.   
“So nice of you to join me, Isao.” The disdain evident in his voice. Isao tried to hide the pain the boy's words caused her, though Sokka noticed her flinch. Steading herself, Isao launched her first attack. Isao was a good fighter, but she only knew one style. Sokka on the other hand was an advanced fighter in almost all the nations fighting styles. This mixed with Sokka’s strength and speed meant he was a better fighter than her, easily. It wasn’t long before Isao started to tire.   
“Sokka, I need to take a break.” The girl managed between breaths.   
“We break when I say so.” Sokka enunciated each word with a hard hit. Isao was trying hard to push down the fear that was rising from her stomach. She felt like passing out, but the boy seemed to be getting angrier, and she knew better than to argue with him. Each hit seemed harder than the last, each one pushing the girl further back. Sokka yelled as he brought his sword down. The girl tried to step backwards, but tripped,and landed hard on her back. Her sparring sword flew out of her hand as her breath was knocked out of her, and she felt several ripping pains in her side. Sokka who had raised his sword for another attack stopped abruptly as a red stain started to grow on Isao’s shirt.  
“Shit!” The boy quickly kneaded next to the girl as he reached for her shirt, his anger forgotten as it was replaced by concern for his friend. Concern quickly turned to confusion, as the girl slapped his hand away.  
“Im fine.” She said as she pushed herself away from him.  
“Look I’m sorry for being an ass, but you need to let me look at it. you’re hurt.” Sokka made a move for the girls shirt again, before, again, being pushed away.  
“I’m fine.” The girl said again, the annoyance and pain evident in her voice.  
“Fine,” The boy said letting out an exasperated sign, “I’ll get Zuko to look at it if it will make you feel better, but someone has to look at it.” Before he could fully stand up, he was stopped by Isao’s hand darting out to grab him.   
“Please don’t!” He looked down at that girl in confusion. “You can do it.” hearing the girls words he quickly dropped to her side, and reached to move her shirt, before she could change her mind. Sokka took a sharp breath when he saw her injury. There were five angry lines across her stomach, two of them had stitches, and one of those had busted open. Luckly, the others all seemed to be healing. Thanks to the blood leaking from the wound, he missed the smaller scars that littered her stomach, although it didn’t hide the deeper cuts or the larger burns. It was obvious that the five new cuts were far to fresh to have been done by anyone other than Isao herself, but he knew that most of the scars belonged to other people.  
“Don’t tell Zuko.” Sokka turned speechless to face the girl. Isao refused to meet Sokka’s burning gaze, afraid of what she might find there. Sokka felt as though his mind was empty, and yet his thoughts were racing at a mile per minute.   
“You need stitches.” The boy stared blankly. Standing up, he looked back down at the girl.   
“Can you walk?”  
“Yes.” Her response was barely above a whisper.  
“Okay, then I’ll help you get up and we can go find someone to stitch you up.” At this the girl's head snapped up.  
“No! I don’t need any help! I just need to get to my room. Please! I just need help to get to my room. Then I'll be fine!” The look in her eyes told Sokka he would be doing more harm than good if he took her to the medical center. Letting out a sigh, he nodded and helped her to her feet. Slinging her right arm over his shoulders, the pair hobbled out of the court yard.

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“There is a box under the foot of the bed.” Isao grunted as Sokka lowered her onto her bed. He tried not to justle her. Quickly he moved to the foot of the bed and ducked his head. He returned to her side and handed her the box he had found.  
“Now what?”  
“I’m good from here, thanks for the help.” She dismissed the bot with a wave of her hand. Sokka let out a chuckle.  
“Come on, you don’t think you can get rid of me that easily do you?” Isao glared at him before pointing to a chair in the corner across from her.  
“Fine, then sit.” As the boy fell into the chair, Isao turned her focus to her wounds. She took off her shirt before pulling out a bottle of alcohol, and a lighter. She quickly went about disinfecting herself, the needle and her other supplies. Setting the needle on a clean cloth she took the scissors and pliers and removed the old stitches. Then she threaded her needle and quickly set to work on her wound. She could feel Sokka’s eyes following her every move. It set her on edge. Finishing the last stitch, she stood up and made her way to the bowl of water on her vanity. She washed all of her equipment and set it to the side to dry, before taking a rag and soap and cleaning herself off. After She had wiped off the dried blood, she returned her supplies to the wooden box and placed the box in its spot under her bed. Straightening up, she chanced a glance at Sokka. She tried to be hurt when she saw what she thought to be disgust. Moved to her wardrobe and opted to wear a tie-on shirt as opposed to her usual pullovers to avoid pulling at the stitches. Then she returned to her place on the bed and waited for the boy to break the silence.   
“Do you want to tell me why you did it?” Sokka received only silence. “Fine, don’t tell me, but you need to talk about it with someone. I know your life wasn’t easy before you got here. I know you grew up with Azula, and I know that you were Fudo’s slave for a while. But, you can’t be doing this stuff. You have people who care about you. I know he isn’t the most affectionate person, but Zuko really cares about you, And Suki, loves you like a sister.” The young boy hung his head in shame. “I know I haven’t been acting like it, but you mean a lot to me too. You’re one of my best friends and despite how I’ve been acting these past couple of days, I care about you. If anything happened to you,I- I could never forgive myself. So please promise me you’ll talk to someone about it?” Isao, who hadn’t lifted her head since sitting down, risked a glance at the boy sitting across from her. She was surprised to see genuine concern in his eyes. Turning her gaze back to the floor, she made a promise for the second time in five days.


	7. Lamenting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I haven't updated for a while. I'm working on that I swear.

Isao Spent the next few days on edge. It seemed as though Sokka was alway watching her. Her only reprieve being her room, although she had a feeling that Sokka would have followed her in if it wouldn’t have raised concerns. She moved to the edge of the training arena, and whipped the sweat from her forehead. She had been training with a new guard, who was currently being yelled at by Sokka for his sloppy form. Using the welcomed distraction, Isao slipped out of the area not really caring about the fuming Sokka who was bound to hunt her down. As she made her way absentmindedly through the training grounds, she noticed that she had ended up in the east wing of the area. The east wing was smaller than the other areas, but for good reason. The scorched earth crunched under her feet as she moved closer to the only pad that was occupied. The east wing was where the guards would go to train their firebending combate skills. There were four small arenas, that dropped down into the ground. They had originally been pads, similar to the non bending area, but the design had emerged after one of the guard got a nasty burn from a stray flame from the next pad over. After that they dropped them in to the ground by about 8 feet so that if any of the sray flames would with hit the stairs leading into the pit or just hit the sky. The training facilities had been broken up after Zuko had started allowing non benders to join the military, and had required more non bending combate skills. Letting out a heavy breath, she dropped down on a near by ledge. Pulling her knee to her chest, she surveyed the fight below her. There were four benders in total, although it seemed that the fight was three against one. Despite the fact that the other three were obviously very skilled benders, they were clearly not winning the match. As the single fighter turned to block an attack, Isao realized that it was Zuko. She took in a sharp breath. She had known Zuko was a strong bender, she had just never realized HOW strong he was. As she continued to watch the match, she couldn’t help but stare at Zuko. He had his black hair tied back in a messy top knot, the hair that had escaped framed his face. He wore the standard red training pants of the fire nation, but his chest was bare, thanks to the humid weather. She watched as Zuko Used his flames to block another attack, She could feel her breath catch as she watched the muscles on his back strain at the effort. Isao was unable to look away, part of her felt wrong. This was Zuko, her friend, but she couldn’t deny the fact that she was attracted to him. Despite being only 18 he had a significant amount of muscle on him, and she couldn’t help the strange feeling she got at watching him fight of the men. Every move he made was swift and calculated, and every attack showed the strength behind his muscles. The match went on for a few more minutes, before She caught Zuko’s eye, she tried to calm her stomach at the smile that had crossed the boy’s face when he noticed her. It wasn’t long before boy ended the match and grabbed a nearby towle. 

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He held both ends as he hung the towel against his neck before turning and jugging up the stairs to where Isao sat. He slowed as he got closer before finally dropping down beside her.   
“Hey” He breathed as he turned to meet the girls green eyes. “What are you doing here?”   
“Hiding from Sokka.” She laughed in irritation. “Yeah, I noticed you two have been kind of joined at the hip lately. What’s with that?” Zuko asked. In all honestly he had payed very close attention to the amount of time the two were spending together. Don’t misunderstand, it wasn’t like he was jealous, it’s just Sokka was dating Suki, and he didn’t want to see Suki get hurt. At least that's what he told himself. “Nothing really, just training and stuff. To be honest, I don’t think he really trusts me yet.” The slight pink coloring her ears easily giving away her lie. “Oh” was his only reply.   
The two sat in silence for what felt like eternity, before Isao finally broke the silence.   
“You were fighting really well down there.”   
“Thanks, I like to train whenever I’m stressed, so I’ve been having plenty of practice recently.”  
He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to hid the blush on his cheeks from the praise.   
“So, what has you stressed today?” Zuko studied her for a moment. She had clearly come from training. She was still in her uniform. Her brown hair tied in a loose bun, though rather large groups of hair had fallen out some still sticking to her forehead and neck. The look of curiosity on her face made her look much younger that she usually did. During moments like this, he could see his old friend. Even as a child Isao had acted older than she was. He had often forgot that she was younger than him. He knew that her dad had been similar to Mai’s, always cold and distant. Isao was expected to be seen and not heard, always the perfect child and lady. She had filled the role perfectly, but in private, when she was with someone she trusted, she was different. She would relax and play and get dirty and laugh. She would tell him stories of the places she had visited and the people she had met. During these times, that he could see just how much of a child she was, the curiosity and innocence was intoxicating and would leave him hanging on to her every word. Now? She was different. She never tried at being a lady. Her smiles never reached her eyes, and her laughs sounded hollow. She was always on edge. Constantly ready for a fight. She was hurt. He knew that most of the people he loved had been through more than most people go through in their lifetime, but Isao somehow hurt more. As to why he couldn’t really say, it wa-  
“Hello, earth to Zuko. You still in there?” Zuko startled slightly as Isao pulled him from his thoughts.  
“Oh sorry.” he cringed. She gave him a small smile. “Don’t worry about it. It must be pretty bad if the thought of it alone causes you to zonk out like that.” he returned her smile and said “Yeah, some of my dad’s old henchmen are coming from the colonies. Since we are in the process of retracting our people, I need to meet with them, and either reassign them or let them go. Since most of them think that I committed treason against my father and that I shouldn’t be on the throne, it’s been pretty difficult getting them to cooperate. Plus, I just got word that one of them is coming in two weeks to visit, which of course means I have to throw a party or I might as well slap him in the face. Not that he doesn’t deserve it. The slimy old bastard.” Sucking in a deep breath, Zuko paused to calm himself before turning to Isao. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to unload like that.” She gave his shoulder a nudge “Don’t worry about it. That's what friends are for, right? Besides it reminds me of old times... Before all of...this.” She admitted with a hit of something he couldn’t quite place. “Yeah I guess it does”


End file.
